


Just Us

by QueenOfRohirrim



Series: Ours is the Family Fueding [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baby Shireen, Dysfunctional Family, M/M, Mpreg, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-03-17 01:48:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18955462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfRohirrim/pseuds/QueenOfRohirrim
Summary: Stannis & Davos have both been married once before. Now they’re together and Stannis is pregnant and scared.Thankfully Davos (already a successful father of seven) is there to reassure him that it will all be just fine.





	1. Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this turns out okay haha I’ve been writing so much Beric/Thoros lately (of which there is more to come soon) and I felt like I needed to show my Baratheon bros some love lol
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this!

“You should go home if you’re sick.” Robert told his younger brother, having stepped into Stannis’ office to find him face down on his desk with the trash bin moved right up against the chair he was sitting in. 

“Get out.” Stannis grumbled at the elder Baratheon. Robert knew full well that if Stannis left early nothing else would get done that day. Or maybe he didn’t. He did tend to forget even the most basic operations of his business these days. Perhaps he’d forgotten that the true power behind Baratheon Steel was Stannis and not him.

Oh but Mother and Father had left it all to Robert. Therefore, Robert’s word was law.

“Is that any way to speak to your boss?” Robert warned his little brother. 

“Boss?” Stannis scoffed, sitting up slowly and grunting when he felt his stomach turn. “What would you do, Robert? Fire me? You can’t afford it. I’m the one who keeps you from falling into Bankruptcy.”

“Not while you’re sick.” Robert huffed, his temper now pricked and beginning to fume out. “I don’t want to pay any shit lawsuit settlement if you pass out and hit your head somewhere on my property! Now pack up your junk and go home!”

“Oh yes, you’re absolutely right.” Stannis muttered as he grudgingly obeyed, gathering his things into his briefcase. “Why on earth would I bother suing you, Robert? You’ve got nothing to give me and we both know it.”

“Get out!” Robert demanded then, tired of his brother’s insults. 

“Did you pay any of your child support this month, Robert?” Stannis asked as he stood from his chair, prepared to walk out after prodding his brother one last time. “Or should I give the mothers of your children a ring back and inform them that you’ve spent it all on wine already?”

“Damn you Stannis! I said leave!” Robert raged, drawing the attention of several other executives and their assistants.

Stannis didn’t care and he didn’t feel like explaining the outburst to anyone as he passed Robert by and made his way to the elevator.

“Stannis?” 

The younger Baratheon sighed as Robert’s partner, and designated peace keeper entered through the doors at the last second. Leave it to Ned Stark to find some way to try and patch up the “bond” between brothers.

“He’s a disaster.” Stannis muttered, grinding his teeth as he gripped his briefcase tightly. 

“What happened this time?” Ned asked, hitting the button to take them down to the ground floor. “Robert told me you were bein’ sick in the loo this mornin’.” 

“I don’t feel well.” Stannis admitted. “He told me to go home, so that’s what I’m doing.” The elevator opened up finally when it reached the ground level and Stannis stepped out, nodding to Ned Stark as he left. “Take care of things while I’m gone. Renly needs to be picked up from school and Robert does need to pay his child support...ALL of it.” He sighed at Ned before going on to exit the building and find his car in the lot.

At least the spell of sickness he’d been struck with allowed Stannis some time away from his brother’s financial issues.

......

Davos had expected the grocery list from Stannis that had been sent to him via text that afternoon. 

It was the middle of the week after all and they were running out of most of the essentials.

However, there was one item on Stannis’ list that he didn’t expect at all. 

“Stannis?” Davos called to his husband as he walked through the front door. 

“Bedroom.” Stannis answered from upstairs, hugging a pillow against his belly as he laid on his side and tried to keep his lunch from coming back up.

Davos sat the two paper sacks of groceries he’d been carrying down onto their kitchen counter and pulled a smaller, plastic wrapped package from the inside of his coat. 

“Feelin’ any better, love?” He asked Stannis as he climbed the stairs and entered their bedroom. 

“A little.” Stannis sighed. “So long as I don’t move around too much. It was much worse this morning.” He slowly sat up in bed, looking at Davos with weary eyes and letting out a long sigh. “Did you bring me what I asked you to buy?”

Davos nodded and offered Stannis the small plastic bag. “Do you really think..?”

“Yes, Davos, I truly do.” Stannis muttered as he pulled the box containing a home pregnancy test out from the bag. 

“There should be directions in the box.” Davos muttered nervously as Stannis stood from their bed and walked to the master bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Davos drew in a deep breath as his wait began. It felt like Stannis was in the bathroom forever after only a few short moments had passed and several times Davos thought about knocking just to be sure he was alright. 

Right as he was about to get up, however, Stannis opened the door again and beckoned him forward. “It’s positive.” He told his husband, unable to mask the fear that absolutely saturated his words.

Davos hurried into the bathroom and looked for himself at the test, which clearly read ‘pregnant’ in bold black letters across the thin little screen at the top.

Davos felt his heart jump into his throat and suddenly he was at a loss for words.

“Well?” Stannis grumbled awkwardly, crossing his arms and looking down to the floor as he waited for Davos to react.

He was surprised when his husband turned and pulled him into a tight hug. “Stannis! This is wonderful news!” He exclaimed with joy as pure and true as soft untouched snow. 

Stannis stiffened slightly as he was hugged but he did not push Davos away. Slowly, he reciprocated the hug and allowed himself to be kissed several times by his obviously elated husband.

Yet still, he felt sick now with fear. 

Stannis had never been the type to care for children. His last marriage had produced none and for that he was honestly quite glad. He couldn’t see himself being a very effective or even a good father.

Davos was different. He had seven boys with his ex wife and he loved them all dearly. He also knew exactly how to handle each and every one of them whenever they acted out, needed a shoulder to cry on, or really when any other possible situation would befall any of the seven sons. Davos was always there and he was always quick to solve the problem. He was an excellent father.

“Stannis, you’re crying.” Davos spoke with great concern, cupping his husband’s face in his hands.

“I’m not!” Stannis insisted, pulling away from Davos and rubbing at his eyes. 

“Love, what’s the matter?” Davos practically pleaded, desperate to know what distressed Stannis so.

“What’s the matter?” Stannis mocked him. “What do you think the matter is, Davos!? There’s a child inside me!”

He rubbed furiously at his eyes agains and sank down against the wall near the shower. “I can’t do this...” He growled out as he wiped the tears out of his face. “I don’t know the first thing about children, Davos. I can’t be a parent.”

“You can, love.” Davos assured him, kneeling next to him with a tissue and handing it over to him. “You’re not going to do it alone. I’m here. We’ll have this baby together, aye? We’ll be a proper family.”

Stannis tossed the used up tissue into a nearby bin and let out a very shaky sigh as he felt Davos take his hand and squeeze it tight. “I don’t know how to raise a child.” He repeated himself, swallowing hard as he tried valiantly to keep more tears from breaking through his momentarily dried eyes.

“Stannis.” Davos spoke softly, leaning close to kiss his husband’s lips in the most gentle, loving way. “We’ll do this all together.”

Stannis swallowed roughly again and took in a few deep, calming breaths before he gave Davos a single nod. “Together then.” He agreed. “I suppose we can try.”

“Aye.” Davos helped him slowly to his feet and kissed him once more. “Now come back to bed. Rest awhile. I’ll ring your doctor and get ya an’ appointment set up so we know fer certain.”

Stannis nodded and walked back into the bedroom, taking back his spot on the bed and grabbing his pillow back up into his arms.

He could hear Davos on the phone with the doctor in his office just down the hallway. 

Slowly he moved a hand to touch his middle, which wasn’t yet swollen with child but would be soon. 

He still couldn’t believe it. He was going to have a baby. They were going to have a baby. A family. 

To be continued....


	2. Worries, Doubts, and Messes to Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stannis has been under a lot of stress lately. Davos is worried for him and for the baby.

“Da? Are we getting food after this?” Steffon Seaworth asked his father as he bounced in his chair in the waiting room of Stannis’ Obstetrician’s office. 

“Yes, son.” Davos assured the boy. “Now stop squirmin’ around like that. Go look at the fish with yer brother.”

“Okay.” Steffon nodded obediently, climbing down then from his chair and hurrying over to watch the aquarium fish with his older brother, Stannis. 

“We should’ve let Renly watch them.” The elder Stannis grumbled from his seat next to Davos as he flipped the page of the magazine he’d been skimming through. “A hospital is no place for children.”

“No, they’ll be excited to hear the baby’s heartbeat.” Davos assured his husband, gently reaching a hand over to feel the little bump growing from Stannis’ middle. “Anyway, we’ve got less things to worry over by bringin’ ‘em both along.”

“Fewer.” Stannis corrected him.

Davos raised an eyebrow at his husband. “Beg pardon, luv?” He asked, confused. 

“Stannis Baratheon!” A nurse called then from the doorway that lead back to the doctor’s office.

“Never mind.” Stannis sighed, standing up from his seat and setting his magazine back onto its table.

Davos then turned his attention immediately to the children, who were still mesmerized by the tropical fish aquarium at the other end of the waiting room.

“Boys!” He called to them both. “Hurry up! It’s our turn to go back.” 

Little Stannis grabbed his younger brother by the arm and pulled him along until they were right at their Father’s heels, following him and their step father back to examination room.

“Da? I’m hungry.” Steffon whined again, tugging on his father’s sleeve.

Stannis sighed deeply. Children never seemed to be pleased for more than a few minutes at a time. 

Once again, he found himself questioning whether or not he was prepared to become a full time parent.  
....

“You need to take a break from that, luv.” Davos called to Stannis from the hallway as the very tired and slightly nauseous Baratheon continued to type at the desktop in his office. 

Stannis only grunted, focusing on his work. It appeared that Robert had taken out a considerable amount of money from the company account that afternoon and as always, Stannis was the one left to make sure that all of the staff were still getting paid their usual salaries and nothing too important was interrupted by the ridiculous withdraw.

“I can’t leave that bastard alone for one second...” He muttered to himself. 

“What’s happened now?” Davos asked, unintentionally making Stannis tense when he suddenly placed his hands onto his husband’s shoulders to massage them a little. 

“Bring me my phone if you want to be helpful, Davos.” Stannis grumbled, taking his hands away from the keyboard finally so that he could rub his aching temples. “I need to call Ned.”

Davos frowned and went to the bedroom to get Stannis’ phone from its charger. “You shouldn’t be involved with all this now.” He warned his husband as he handed the phone over. “Stress isn’t good fer the baby.”

“The baby’s fine...” Stannis sighed before shooing Davos out of his office while he scrolled through his contacts for Ned Stark’s number.

“Your dinner’s gettin’ cold downstairs.” Davos told him before he left to return to the kitchen. 

Stannis just shut his eyes and waited impatiently for the dial tone to end with his brother-in-law’s greeting. However, that did NOT happen.

“Fuck.” Stannis snarled, hanging up the phone and standing from his chair. He stomped downstairs to the entryway, slid his shoes on, and grabbed his coat from its hanger.

“Now where are ya goin’ this time a’ night?” Davos asked, setting the plate he was washing down and hurrying to catch Stannis before he left.

“I need to talk to Robert. Where are my keys?” Stannis asked, feeling all of his coat pockets for the car keys he’d seemed to misplace.

“On the hanger, luv. Where they always are.” Davos answered knowingly. Stannis had come down with a textbook case of pregnancy brain lately, forgetting things that normally he’d be right on top of. 

Davos wasn’t surprised. His ex had gone through the same thing with most of his boys. It seemed to be a normal thing so he wasn’t much worried about it. What really bothered him now was the amount of unnecessary stress that Stannis was always under. 

“Luv, why don’t you let me talk to yer brother?” He suggested then, desperate to save his pregnant husband from the heart attack he was about to walk into. 

“You think that Robert will listen to you?” Stannis scoffed, grabbing the keys to his car and walking back to the front door. “He doesn’t even listen to me...”

“So stop runnin’ to fix all his mistakes fer him!” Davos pleaded. “Maybe he needs to learn his lesson fer once!”

“I’ll be back soon.” Stannis replied, ignoring his husband’s pleas as he hurried to the car.

He swallowed hard when he felt bile start to rise in throat on the ride to Robert’s house. The morning sickness didn’t seem to live up to its name, really. It happened throughout the day, and it seemed like these times of anxiety and strain were what encouraged it to rear its ugly head.

“Not now.” Stannis sighed, laying one hand over his belly, which had now begun to grow a little round bump beneath his shirt. 14 weeks now and he still wasn’t over the sickness like the doctor said he should be. It was more than a little annoying.

“You look terrible.” Renly told his elder brother once Stannis had arrived at Robert’s home and allowed himself in through the unlocked front door. 

Stannis paid him no mind. “Where’s Robert?” He asked the boy, who really should have been in bed by now. It was a school night, after all. 

“I don’t know.” Renly shrugged from his spot on the living room sofa, his eyes glued to the massive flat screen television in front of him on the wall as he stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. 

“Renly, look at me.” Stannis growled. 

“What!?” Renly whined at him. “I’m watching a movie! Go away!”

Stannis was about to open his mouth to scold Renly for his attitude but before he could, Ned Stark came down the stairs, pulling the strings of his bath robe tightly around his waist.

“Hello, Stannis.” He greeted the irritated Baratheon before him. “We didn’t expect you tonight. I would have saved some supper...”

“Ned, where is Robert?” Stannis stopped him, rubbing a hand over his face as he felt a headache coming on.

“It’s past seven!” Renly interjected. “Robert’s probably already passed out drunk.” 

Ned frowned and looked over his shoulder at the boy. “Renly!” He snapped at him, as if he were the lad’s mother. 

“What?” Renly shrugged again, still not taking his eyes away from the tv. “It’s true. You come home, eat dinner, watch the news and then Robert gets the wine out of the cellar.”

Stannis glared at Ned, grinding his teeth with the bite force of a vicious Valyrian dragon. “When Robert can manage to pull himself out of his drunken stupor...” he began to spit with obvious fury. “Tell him that he and I need to have a very serious conversation.”

“What’s happened?” Ned asked worriedly. “What’s Robert done?”

Stannis only shook his head and turned quickly to leave. “I’ll expect a phone call by noon tomorrow or he can find himself another accountant!” He firmly stated to Ned before turning his head back half way out the door to send Renly a menacing look. “Get to bed!” He told his baby brother. “You’ve got school tomorrow! I expect you to be there on time!”

“Stannis!” Ned tried to stop him before he could leave. Stannis was NOT in the mood to hear excuses, however. Ned Stark was a good, honorable man but that was all he ever had when it came to Robert. Excuses. He didn’t want to believe that there was wickedness in the man that he loved. 

Stannis didn’t exactly blame Ned for that but it irritated him. Just as Robert irritated him by being a drunken, irresponsible fool and Renly irritated him with his near sighted rebelliousness and lack of proper judgement. 

Come to think of it everyone irritated him! Every fucking person on the face of the earth irritated him!

“Seven hells...” He growled to himself as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, feeling hot tears welling up in his eyes as he came to a stop at a red light. 

He wiped them away quickly but it wasn’t long until more followed, and soon he was sobbing so that he could barely see the road in front of him. 

When he finally returned home, Davos, oh lovely, sweet, caring Davos, was quick to pull him into a tight hug.

“I don’t even know why I’m crying anymore...I shouldn’t be...” Stannis insisted, trying desperately to stop the tears as he wiped his eyes again and again and again. 

“Come to bed.” Davos told him, voice soft but still filled to the brim with concern. “I’ll rub yer back awhile. That’ll make ya feel better won’t it? A nice massage? Do’ya want anythin’ to eat before?”

“No.” Stannis shook his head. “I just want to sleep.”

“Alright, Alright.” Davos agreed, leading him up to their bedroom without another word. He could see that Stannis needed some quiet time to calm down. 

A few moments alone would do him some good.

.....

Davos slowly crept back into the bedroom he shared with Stannis after laying the boys down to sleep. 

He could hear his husband’s soft breaths in the dark and he carefully navigated his way over to his own side of the bed and slid into the covers as quietly as he possibly could.

“I need to quit my job.” Stannis surprised him by speaking.

“Goodness, luv,” Davos gasped slightly. “I thought ya were sleepin’....but yes, you do need to quit that job. Let Ned Stark handle Robert’s blunders if he loves the man so dearly.”

“Robert’s going to lose Ned Stark as well, if he doesn’t clean up his act.” Stannis sighed. 

“That’s not your problem to worry over.” Davos countered, moving closer to his husband when Stannis turned over to face him. “We’ve got plenty ‘a worries of our own.”

“We do.” Stannis agreed, tensing slightly when he felt Davos touch his belly. “It’s been moving. Only slightly, but it’s definitely been moving.”

Davos smiled then. “The heart rate was higher than all the boys’ .” He reminded his husband. “Some say that means it’s a girl.”

“That’s just an old wives tale.” Stannis dismissed the theory. 

“Oh no, it’s quite an accurate test, I assure ya. I’ve yet to see it fail.” Davos continued to smile, happy that Stannis seemed to be feeling better.

“I never took you for a superstitious man, Davos.” His husband half chuckled at his faith in the old fable. “Though I suppose we should start looking at names, boy or girl.”

“Aye. We should be focusin’ on the baby now.” Davos agreed. “Our baby. Not Robert or Renly.”

Stannis did laugh at that, or at least for him it was a laugh. Davos was glad he could make him smile a little. Stannis deserved to be able to smile.

“Ya know, luv, I don’t think ya need to worry about bein’ a good mum.” Davos told his husband, gently rubbing his tummy, as Stannis had relaxed now beneath his touch. 

“Is that right?” Stannis muttered.

“Aye that’s right.” Davos confirmed, leaning over to kiss him once on the lips. Stannis didn’t tense up this time, as he had seen the kiss coming, and actually welcomed the loving gesture without the least bit of protest. “You’ve raised yer brothers on yer own.” Davos told him. 

“And look at them now.” Stannis sighed. “An incapable drunk and a disobedient fledgling. I did well, didn’t I?”

“Ya did the best ya could for ‘em.” Davos replied. “Most others would’ve run from ‘em a long time ago.”

Stannis was quiet for a moment, shaking his head against his pillow. “You put too much faith in me, Davos.” He whispered. “You always have.”

“I can’t think of anyone that deserves my faith more.” His husband replied. “You’ll be a wonderful mother to our little one, Stannis, and this time ya won’t be on yer own.”

“Is that a promise?” Stannis asked, though he didn’t have to. He knew already.

“Aye. Always and forever, till the end a’ time.” Davos pledged, leaning over to kiss him again.


	3. After the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stannis starts to slowly pull the broken pieces of his life back together again.
> 
> Meanwhile, Davos is just trying to make sure that his husband still remembers to take care of himself and their unborn child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry it took me so long to update this! I hope you all enjoy it!

Ned came to see Stannis the next morning, not in an attempt to persuade him not to quit, but just to make sure he was feeling alright.

“Robert never called me, you know.” Stannis told him over coffee, his ever stern expression sitting back once again on his face. 

“I know.” Ned sighed. “He thinks he can find someone else to take over.”

Stannis chuckled ever so slightly. “Let him try and find anyone better.”

“He won’t.” Ned assured Stannis, frowning as he took a sip from his mug. “But you don’t need his problems to deal with anymore. You’ve got enough to worry about with a new baby on the way.”

Stannis nodded and touched a hand to his growing belly. “Enough about Robert.” He muttered. “I want to talk about Renly.”

“Renly?” Ned asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes. Renly. Has he applied to university yet? He’s running out of time if not.” Stannis inquired, his face still stern, though Ned could tell the subject had been bothering him for awhile.

“How long has it been since you’ve talked to the boy, Stannis?” He asked, a bit shocked that the only responsible Baratheon was so behind on the current family events. “He’s been accepted for nearly a month now.”

Stannis breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.” He nodded, keeping to himself how it hurt him that Renly didn’t call to tell him that bit of good news.

“He’s just been busy, Stannis.” Ned spoke up. “I wouldn’t take it to heart.”

“I won’t.” Stannis promised, though he couldn’t help but feel a little left behind by his youngest brother. “I’m just happy that he’s doing what’s best for himself.”

“We can agree on that much.” Ned sighed. “He’s a good lad. I’ve grown fond of him. I hope he does well.”

“He will.” Stannis said with confidence. “Unless something unexpected comes up to hinder him...You do keep an eye on him when the Tyrell boy comes around, I hope.”

“Two eyes.” Ned promised. “Nothing of that sort will be happening while I draw breath. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Good. I won’t have time to raise two children at once.” Stannis sighed, resting his hand against his belly when he felt the little flutters of movement inside.

Ned smiled softly at his brother in law. “Thought of any names?” He inquired. 

“No.” Stannis admitted. “We’re waiting until we find out the sex to start planning any further.” 

“That’s probably smart.” Ned agreed, standing up then from his chair. “Well,” He said to Stannis as he grabbed up his coat, preparing to leave. “I’ve taken enough of yer time. Make sure to get plenty of rest, Stannis. That baby’s more important than anything Robert’s doing. I promise.”

“You sound like my husband now.” Stannis muttered, making Ned chuckle. 

“I’ll see ya again soon, I hope.” His brother in law nodded in parting before he walked to the front door to leave.

“Ned?” Stannis called after him just before the door closed back. 

“Aye?” Ned answered, stepping back inside halfway to hear what Stannis had to say.

“Let me pick Renly up from school today.” The graying haired Baratheon told his brother’s husband, who nodded without any hesitation or objection.

“I’ll let the school know.” Ned promised.

....

Renly seemed surprised to find Stannis waiting for him in the car park in front of his high school.

Usually Ned came to get him, or very rarely, when Ned was unable to make it there in time, Robert took off of work early and picked him up on his way back to the house.

Stannis hadn’t gotten Renly from school since he had gone to live with their eldest brother, so this was quite odd.

“What are you doing here?” The youngest Baratheon asked with great confusion as he threw his backpack into the back seat then got into the passenger’s side door to sit next to Stannis. 

“I’m picking you up from school.” His brother answered simply. “Put your seatbelt on before we go please.” 

Renly rolled his eyes but complied with Stannis’ demands and buckled himself in. “Why are you here?” He asked then. “You never pick me up. Did something happen to Robert? Where’s Ned?”

“Nothing has happened to anyone.” Stannis assured the boy. “I told Ned that I would be picking you up today and he saw no reason to say otherwise.”

“You’re making me nervous.” Renly admitted, giving Stannis a worried look.

“Am I not allowed to pick my little brother up from school?” Stannis inquired, never moving his eyes off the road as he maneuvered out of the school parking lot.

“You’re not going to try to give me “the talk” again, are you?” Renly asked, his worried expression turning to one of complete terror as he remembered the last lecture he had received from Stannis about the birds and the bees.

“Do we need to have another discussion about that?” Stannis asked, his true concern on the matter never showing through his ever stern expression. 

“No! Absolutely not!” Renly assured his brother.

“Good. Then we won’t.” Stannis promised. “But If you ever have any questions...”

“Stannis!” Renly whined, his face turning red as he placed his hands to his ears. “I’m not going to listen to this!”

“I just wanted you to know that...”

“Blah blah blah blah blah!” 

Stannis ground his teeth together in frustration. “You’re behaving like a child.” He growled at Renly, who finally uncovered his ears and elected instead to sit in an awkward silence for the majority of their ride to Robert and Ned’s home.

“Ned told me that you were accepted to university.” Stannis spoke again after a long period of quiet between them.

“Yeah.” Renly confirmed, seeming to relax again in his seat, the blush fading from his cheeks. “I got letters back from two schools, actually. Storm’s End wants me to go to there but I think I want to stay in the City at King’s Landing. That way I can be close to family still.”

“If I were you, I’d run out of this city as soon as the chance presented itself.” Stannis admitted, secretly very glad that Renly had chosen to open up to him a bit. 

“I can’t leave.” His little brother insisted. “Not now anyway. I have too many friends here, and you and Robert and Ned. Loras wants to go to King’s Landing too, so there’s that. Plus, I’m going to be an uncle soon, right?”

Stannis felt his heart grow heavy and he began to grind his teeth again. “You are.” He confirmed to Renly.

“Then why would I ever want to go back to Storm’s End?” Renly reasoned.

Stannis managed a very slight grin. “I suppose you’re right.” He agreed, doing a rather fantastic job, he thought, of keeping his hormonally imbalanced emotions from breaking through his calm and collected facade. 

Truthfully, he wanted to hug his baby brother and tell him how much he’d missed him and that he was proud of him. 

Hopefully Renly understood that an assurance that he was on the right path and the smallest of all the world’s smiles was all that Stannis could manage outwardly.

“You should come around more often.” The cheerful boy suggested then, surprising his elder brother. “I know we haven’t been talking much lately but I’ve missed you.” 

“Well...” Stannis swallowed hard, his mind scrambling for a moment as he pulled his car into Ned and Robert’s drive. “You have my number.”

“I do.” Renly nodded with a proper smile of his own, getting out of the car then and grabbing his things from the back. “Thanks for the ride, Stannis.” 

“Mhm. Make sure you get to bed at a decent time tonight.” Stannis replied sternly. 

“You’re funny.” Renly snarked back at him as he walked up the porch steps to the front door. 

Stannis watched him get safely inside the house before he finally backed out onto the road again to drive home.

A tear slipped out from his right eye as he pulled away from the house and his baby brother, and he ground his teeth together once again, hoping to stop any sobs from escaping him.

....

“You look well rested.” Davos declared with a heavy dose of sarcasm, coming through the entryway and into the living room where Stannis was sitting with his laptop. 

“Do I?” His husband muttered, searching through local job listings for accountants and “financial experts”. “I can’t imagine why that would be.”

“I was not being sincere at all, my dear.” Davos sighed heavily as he draped his arms around Stannis from behind the couch and softly kissed his head from above. “What on earth are ye doin’ now? Didn’t I tell ye to take things easy today?”

“How are we supposed to support a child on one income?” Stannis huffed, showing no signs of being ready to put his job hunting aside.

Davos reached out his good hand and promptly shut the computer, earning a shocked look from his husband.

“Put it away, love.” Davos told Stannis. “The boys are back with their mother, the house is empty, and I think you and I both deserve to go to bed a bit early for a change.”

“I have things that need doing before I even think about sleep.” Stannis tried to persuade his husband, but Davos was not so easily beaten.

“Fine then. We’re goin to do this the hard way, I see.” He sighed before leaning over the couch and managing somehow to lift Stannis up into his arms.

“Davos!” Stannis gasped as he was carried then up the staircase and to their room. 

“I’m sorry, love, but I did give ya a chance to come quietly.” Davos smiled sweetly as he carried Stannis to their bed. 

“You can’t just sling me around like that.” Stannis scolded his beloved as he was placed ever so carefully onto the mattress. “I’m with child.”

“Aye. You are with child. That’s why you need rest.” Davos argued, going to his side of the bed and lying down next to Stannis. “Now please go to sleep.” He told his husband, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “For the baby’s sake and yer own.”

Stannis rolled his eyes, looking quite annoyed, but soon enough he was lying, fast asleep, in the arms of the man who loved him most, and for once he was at peace.


End file.
